Abstract
Qualitative research methods were developed in the social sciences to enable researchers to
study social and cultural phenomena and are designed to help researchers understand
people and the social and cultural contexts within which they live (Denzin and Lincoln
2011). The goal of understanding a phenomenon from the point of view of the participants
and its particular social and institutional context is largely lost when textual data are
quantified. Taylor and Bogdan (1984) point out that qualitative research methods were
designed mostly by educational researchers and other social scientists to study the
complexities of human behavior (e.g., motivation, communication, difficulties in
understanding). According to these authors, human behavior is clearly a phenomenon that,
due to its complexity, requires qualitative methods to be fully understood, since much of
human behavior cannot be adequately described and explained through statistics and other
quantitative methods. Examples of qualitative methods are action research, case study
research, ethnography, and grounded theory. Qualitative data sources include observation
and participant observation (fieldwork), interviews and questionnaires, documents and
texts, and the researcher’s impressions and reactions.
study social and cultural phenomena and are designed to help researchers understand
people and the social and cultural contexts within which they live (Denzin and Lincoln
2011). The goal of understanding a phenomenon from the point of view of the participants
and its particular social and institutional context is largely lost when textual data are
quantified. Taylor and Bogdan (1984) point out that qualitative research methods were
designed mostly by educational researchers and other social scientists to study the
complexities of human behavior (e.g., motivation, communication, difficulties in
understanding). According to these authors, human behavior is clearly a phenomenon that,
due to its complexity, requires qualitative methods to be fully understood, since much of
human behavior cannot be adequately described and explained through statistics and other
quantitative methods. Examples of qualitative methods are action research, case study
research, ethnography, and grounded theory. Qualitative data sources include observation
and participant observation (fieldwork), interviews and questionnaires, documents and
texts, and the researcher’s impressions and reactions.
